Pimientos myth?

[Jakke]

Somewhere (Brierley maybe) I read that every fifth Pimiento de Padron is supposed to be very hot, turning the meal into a kind of Galitian culinary roulette. I have eaten at least 10 meals of pimientos de Padron and I love it. However, have I been unlucky (lucky?), because all pimientos have been anything but hot. Who has had a different experience, or shall we call the myth busted?

 

[Tincatinker]

I've seen a figure of 1 in 10 bandied about. Try growing your own. The slower they grow the hotter they get. I've encountered some pretty spicy hits in bars in remoter and more rural parts of Spain where the pimientos probably came out of someones garden or veg patch. The poly-tunnel grown mass produced stuff, though still delicious, is generally pretty palate friendly.

 

[notion900]

We should have more of these voting thingummys. Very democratic.

 

[Jakke]

I've seen a figure of 1 in 10 bandied about. Try growing your own. The slower they grow the hotter they get. I've encountered some pretty spicy hits in bars in remoter and more rural parts of Spain where the pimientos probably came out of someones garden or veg patch. The poly-tunnel grown mass produced stuff, though still delicious, is generally pretty palate friendly.

http://otherspain.com/pages/recipes/pimientos.asp

 

[Tincatinker]

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/05/spanish-style-padron-peppers-how-to-cook.html

Like what I said. It could be 1/5, 1/10 or none on a plate. The ones I grow are 9/1 (or maybe by the 1oth one they just don't seem to burn so much)

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Somewhere (Brierley maybe) I read that every fifth Pimiento de Padron is supposed to be very hot, turning the meal into a kind of Galitian culinary roulette. I have eaten at least 10 meals of pimientos de Padron and I love it. However, have I been unlucky (lucky?), because all pimientos have been anything but hot. Who has had a different experience, or shall we call the myth busted?

You are Lucky I had several very hot ones.
Keep trying and maybe you get un lucky.

Wish you well,Peter.

 

[Jakke]

You are Lucky I had several very hot ones.
Keep trying and maybe you get un lucky.

Wish you well,Peter.

Dank je, Peter!

 

[naplesdon]

Oily when grilled and never a hot one; now Espelette piments, there is a hot pepper.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Just had the one in five at Casa Manolo. My home grown this year were ten of ten. Inedible. I don't know if it was soil, climate, or nearby hot red peppers polinating them.

 

[PDX Bucky]

Having fallen in love with the humble Pimiento de Padron on our first trip to Barcelona, we've grown our own at home for the past five years. We typically plant around a dozen plants and get a basket full of these delights a couple of times a week. I can attest to the fact that there are "hot" ones. I once thought that it was based on how long they spent on the stem, but they can be big or small and still be hot. On the Scoville scale, they are nowhere near some of the hotter peppers, but they can still leave a lingering "glow" in your mouth.

 

[mariam88]

My parents (who are from La Coruña) say that a lot of the Pimientos are called Padrón but they're actually grown around Betanzos and they're not hot. Don't know how true this is. We grow them in our garden in London and we definitely get more than 1 in 10 that are hot, especially if we don't water them properly

 

[Robo]

Never found a hot one in Spain. But we get them from a grower here in Australia, and indeed about 1 in 10 is very hot. He explained it was the growing conditions as a long dry spell makes them hotter.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Not a single one.

 

[AJ]

Maybe half a dozen hot ones (very hot they were too!!) in I don't know how many plates full over the past 9 years.

 

[Mike Savage]

I've eaten dozens nay, hundreds and never had a hot one. I do enjoy spicy food and wish they were grown hotter.

In my experience growing peppers they are hotter when watered less. Too much water washes out the heat on peppers and the taste on tomatoes.

 

[VNwalking]

Never in Spain, and I'm very fond of them so I've eaten a lot. Home grown ones from America on the other hand...yeah, about half-half, always depending on how much the plants have been watered--for the fruit to be mild, the plants need to be well-watered.

 

[jpflavin1]

Somewhere (Brierley maybe) I read that every fifth Pimiento de Padron is supposed to be very hot, turning the meal into a kind of Galitian culinary roulette. I have eaten at least 10 meals of pimientos de Padron and I love it. However, have I been unlucky (lucky?), because all pimientos have been anything but hot. Who has had a different experience, or shall we call the myth busted?

Jakke:

I have ordered and eaten them many times. I have never had an even mildly hot one.

Good luck with your survey.

Joe

 

[Sarah Olson]

Just had the one in five at Casa Manolo. My home grown this year were ten of ten. Inedible. I don't know if it was soil, climate, or nearby hot red peppers polinating them.

If you plant regular peppers anywhere near hot peppers, they will have heat! Best to space them far apart.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

If you plant regular peppers anywhere near hot peppers, they will have heat! Best to space them far apart.

That is so interesting. Why is that?

 

[Mike Savage]

If you plant regular peppers anywhere near hot peppers, they will have heat! Best to space them far apart.

Interesting. I can't imagine why they would: they cannot cross pollinate since peppers are self pollinating.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Not a single one.

Me neither.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

The hot ones are older. The mild ones are fresher. There's usually a mix of young and old if you harvest once or twice that week, thus the proportions.

 

[Gruffalo Jim]

We should have more of these voting thingummys. Very democratic.

 

[Gruffalo Jim]

Unless you're Scottish....

 

[Sarah Olson]

Okay, y'all made me look it up, just to prove I'm not crazy! This is an excerpt from a study:

A misconception exists among a number of individuals who save their own seed. The misconception is that no crossing has occurred if the fruit and foliage of the first generation (F1 generation) or subsequent generations appear no different than the parental generation. This misconception can be illustrated by performing the following test. The test consists of growing a row of hot peppers next to a row of sweet peppers, both varieties having approximately the same shape and color of fruit and otherwise similar in appearance. The seed from the fruit of the sweet variety is then saved and planted. When the fruit of this planting (F1 generation) is eaten, a high percentage of these peppers will be found to be hot (due to the presence of a dominant gene received from the hot variety). One enthusiastic bite into a hot sweet pepper will illustrate that similarity in appearance does not mean absence of cross-pollination. Incidentally, the hot trait will not disappear in the next generation (F2 generation) or subsequent generations unless the hot plants are rogued out (each plant would have to be grown in isolation to do this). Instead the genes will "move around" in the plants of the subsequent generations. This experiment demonstrates the obvious results of cross-pollination,

 

[Jakke]

Oily when grilled and never a hot one; now Espelette piments, there is a hot pepper.

True, but I like olive oil. I'll have to try those Espelettes. Thanks for the tip!

My parents (who are from La Coruña) say that a lot of the Pimientos are called Padrón but they're actually grown around Betanzos and they're not hot. Don't know how true this is. We grow them in our garden in London and we definitely get more than 1 in 10 that are hot, especially if we don't water them properly

You can buy them here in Finland, but when you study the small print. You'll see that they have come from Marocco!

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

I tried one, it was hot. Never tried another one

 

[notion900]

For me, I eat one and think mmm, spicy. Then I eat about 3 more and suddenly feel whoa actually these fellas are HOT. It builds up on you, and grabs you after 3 or 4. So people might think that the 5th pimento is the hot one, but actually the sneaky devils are ganging up. And they hang out with cream cheese, which aids in their little game.

 

[peregrino_tom]

I'm convinced there's some European Union Health directive that's been quietly put in place in the last few years to eradicate the hot ones on the grounds of Health and Safety or minimise the incidence of personal injury litigation.
On my first couple of caminos there was a decent smattering of the fiercesome ones. In later years I'd be warning newbies about these, but none were ever found and they'd look at me like I'd been spending just a bit too long on the camino (I should be so lucky)

 

[Jakke]

I tried one, it was hot. Never tried another one

That was just too few and a too quick decision. The pimiento deserves better. Try again on your next camino!

 

[VNwalking]

I wonder if there is an added variable here, being our perception of "hot."
That can that vary as much as the pimentos' actual hotness.
I notice at least 2 people who perceive heat are British. Not to make assumptions, but...

(In Galicia, I've never had one that's more than a wee bit warm. When I ate home-grown ones that had been starved of water a bit...hotter. But still not hot. Or even close. The tiny green bombs that we get here, on the other hand...terribly wonderful, and always a surprise, hidden in the innocent looking curried eggs or pickled tea leaf salad.)

 

[Jakke]

I wonder if there is an added variable here, being our perception of "hot."
That can that vary as much as the pimentos' actual hotness.
I notice at least 2 people who perceive heat are British. Not to make assumptions, but...

(In Galicia, I've never had one that's more than a wee bit warm. When I ate home-grown ones that had been starved of water a bit...hotter. But still not hot. Or even close. The tiny green bombs that we get here, on the other hand...terribly wonderful, and always a surprise, hidden in the innocent looking curried eggs or pickled tea leaf salad.)

Thank you so much! This reply is more than an opinion. Your recepies sound great. I have eaten the pimientos like I got them in Padron: grilled in oil and with sea salt. Curried eggs especially sounds like a good idea. More useful recepies?

 

[VNwalking]

More useful recepies?

Off topic, but here (thanks to the wonder of the internet) is a recipe for you, Jakke. We just had a veterinarian version of this served at lunch today, very Burmese--except the real Burmese version has much more oil.
The pickled tea-leaf salad is not really reproducible without the actual Burmese fermented tea leaves (I've tried), but this is what it looks like.

 

[Kanga]

I've just made piperade for dinner, in memory of a wonderful dinner we had at Lavarrenx in the French Basque country, on the Le Puy route. Delicious. A good half cup of olive oil, into which goes finely chopped onions, finely chopped red and green capsicum (I think in the US bell peppers?) and tomatoes - all in about equal quantities. A teaspoon of cider vinegar.

I add some sliced chorizo sausage to make it a substantial main dish. Cook until it softens and all melds together well, serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices. Easy, and a family favourite.

 

[notion900]

I wonder if there is an added variable here, being our perception of "hot."
That can that vary as much as the pimentos' actual hotness.
I notice at least 2 people who perceive heat are British. Not to make assumptions, but...

(In Galicia, I've never had one that's more than a wee bit warm. When I ate home-grown ones that had been starved of water a bit...hotter. But still not hot. Or even close. The tiny green bombs that we get here, on the other hand...terribly wonderful, and always a surprise, hidden in the innocent looking curried eggs or pickled tea leaf salad.)

When I was in Kerala some one said the wise words: 'Beware the smallest thing on the Thali'. That little smear of pickle, or the teeny tiny chilli, is gonna get you!

But the Brits love spicy food.

 

[Jakke]

Off topic, but here (thanks to the wonder of the internet) is a recipe for you, Jakke. We just had a veterinarian version of this served at lunch today, very Burmese--except the real Burmese version has much more oil.
The pickled tea-leaf salad is not really reproducible without the actual Burmese fermented tea leaves (I've tried), but this is what it looks like.

Gracias!

 

[Jakke]

I've just made piperade for dinner, in memory of a wonderful dinner we had at Lavarrenx in the French Basque country, on the Le Puy route. Delicious. A good half cup of olive oil, into which goes finely chopped onions, finely chopped red and green capsicum (I think in the US bell peppers?) and tomatoes - all in about equal quantities. A teaspoon of cider vinegar.

I add some sliced chorizo sausage to make it a substantial main dish. Cook until it softens and all melds together well, serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices. Easy, and a family favourite.

Thanks. Sounds great!

 

[naplesdon]

I've just made piperade for dinner, in memory of a wonderful dinner we had at Lavarrenx in the French Basque country, on the Le Puy route. Delicious. A good half cup of olive oil, into which goes finely chopped onions, finely chopped red and green capsicum (I think in the US bell peppers?) and tomatoes - all in about equal quantities. A teaspoon of cider vinegar.

I add some sliced chorizo sausage to make it a substantial main dish. Cook until it softens and all melds together well, serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices. Easy, and a family favourite.

Kanga, I have a much cherished container of Piment d'Espelette which I sprinkle cautiously on many things I prepare, but when I grill chipirones (calamari) which are now available in US groceries I usually over do it like they do in Basque Country. Bon appetite!

 

[Davey Boyd]

I have found about four hot ones in three years walking. It really surprised me the first time I got one! I eat extremely hot chili all the time (addicted), and even I thought the hot ones were hot!

 

[VPANAMA]

If you plant regular peppers anywhere near hot peppers, they will have heat! Best to space them far apart.

But how do you plant the Padron peppers? Importing their seeds to the USA may not be allowed. Thanks.

 

[VNwalking]

But how do you plant the Padron peppers?

You buy the seeds in the USA. They're easily found online.

 

[Sarah Olson]

But how do you plant the Padron peppers? Importing their seeds to the USA may not be allowed. Thanks.

A quick google search shows that padron pepper seeds are readily available in the US, and they are listed as "hot".

 

[Sarah Olson]

You buy the seeds in the USA. They're easily found online.

We must have been searching at the same time!

 

[Mike Savage]

Okay, y'all made me look it up, just to prove I'm not crazy! This is an excerpt from a study:

A misconception exists among a number of individuals who save their own seed. The misconception is that no crossing has occurred if the fruit and foliage of the first generation (F1 generation) or subsequent generations appear no different than the parental generation. This misconception can be illustrated by performing the following test. The test consists of growing a row of hot peppers next to a row of sweet peppers, both varieties having approximately the same shape and color of fruit and otherwise similar in appearance. The seed from the fruit of the sweet variety is then saved and planted. When the fruit of this planting (F1 generation) is eaten, a high percentage of these peppers will be found to be hot (due to the presence of a dominant gene received from the hot variety). One enthusiastic bite into a hot sweet pepper will illustrate that similarity in appearance does not mean absence of cross-pollination. Incidentally, the hot trait will not disappear in the next generation (F2 generation) or subsequent generations unless the hot plants are rogued out (each plant would have to be grown in isolation to do this). Instead the genes will "move around" in the plants of the subsequent generations. This experiment demonstrates the obvious results of cross-pollination,

Interesting. Thanks for posting this Sarah.

 

[Sarah Olson]

Interesting. Thanks for posting this Sarah.

I get so sad when I get a jalapeño with no heat at all, now I understand why it happens! No wonder it's so inconsistent. The whole article was really interesting, talked about separating sweet and hot peppers as much as a mile to keep the lines pure!

 

[Jakke]

VN is right -- my request for her recepies is a bit off-topic, so I'll start a new thread where you can share your best Padron peppers recepies.

 

[VNwalking]

We must have been searching at the same time!

Or at least replying. It's always funny when this happens. Great minds.
(I've grown them from seed in the US before so I knew that they were available, somewhere.)

 

[brian560]

Never found a hot one in Spain. But we get them from a grower here in Australia, and indeed about 1 in 10 is very hot. He explained it was the growing conditions as a long dry spell makes them hotter.

Where do you get them from. I love tham and I want some now lol

 

[Robo]

Where do you get them from. I love them and I want some now lol

This is the Australian grower we found. I think the season is Nov-May?
http://www.midyimeco.com.au/ They post them

 

[brian560]

This is the Australian grower we found. I think the season is Nov-May?
http://www.midyimeco.com.au/

Thanks, bit far for me so I will have to grow them. If you ever do the VdlP try the padrones in Ourense. They use salt flakes to season...sensational..and big serves.

 

[Robo]

Thanks, bit far for me so I will have to grow them. If you ever do the VdlP try the padrones in Ourense. They use salt flakes to season...sensational..and big serves.

Brian. They mail them to you!

 

[kerdi]

Somewhere (Brierley maybe) I read that every fifth Pimiento de Padron is supposed to be very hot, turning the meal into a kind of Galitian culinary roulette. I have eaten at least 10 meals of pimientos de Padron and I love it. However, have I been unlucky (lucky?), because all pimientos have been anything but hot. Who has had a different experience, or shall we call the myth busted?

Hi
I have eaten Pimientos de Padron in various places in Spain, not only on the Camino. I had them in Madrid, Barcelona, in Laredo and places which are less visited by tourists. They are an obvious choice for my wife who prefers Vegan food. Never had a hot one - but that might be just my personal impression. We tend to eat hot anyway and consume a lot of chilies at home

 

[Deleted member 3000]

My 2017 planting is yielding a bountiful crop. Only about one in twenty is hot. I think the secret was to keep them away from the jalapeno pepper plants to prevent cross polination, and, perhaps, harvesting regularly before the pepper gets large. I get a racione every two days!

 

[peregrina2000]

falcon, please invite me over. I will wash the dishes, bring the wine, you name it, I just want to eat some. I had some once in a tapas place in Chicago, but they were not the same.

I am not a foodie by any stretch, but I always eat padrón peppers in Galicia. One of my favorite places in Santiago to do this is the Bodeguilla de San Roque, which is very close to the lovely hotel Costa Vella. Anyway, I do have a topic-related point -- when I was in Santiago one May several years ago to volunteer in the pilgrims' office, I went to the Bodeguilla and saw that the peppers were not on the menu. When I asked about it, they told me that serving them before summer means that a lot more will be very hot. That's not a theory any of you knowledgeable people have proposed, but I wonder if time of year could also be involved. Whatever it is, viva el pimento de padrón!

 

[VNwalking]

falcon, please invite me over. . .viva el pimento de padrón!

Can I come too, please???
Better yet lets all go to Bodeguilla de San Roque.
(Like you, Laurie, I could live on these, and do when I'm in Santiago. I'm not fussy about where I go and often end up in a little place near the Cathedral on the Rúa da Acibechería. Next time maybe I'll branch out.)

When I asked about it, they told me that serving them before summer means that a lot more will be very hot.

I'm told by one who should know that the heat happens when the plants get less water, as would happen in hot summer weather. So you may be right.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

On the plants. Many more to come!

 

[C clearly]

they told me that serving them before summer means that a lot more will be very hot.

I'm told by one who should know that the heat happens when the plants get less water, as would happen in hot summer weather. So you may be right.

Wouldn't that be the opposite of the theory heard by @peregrina2000 ?

 

[VNwalking]

Wouldn't that be the opposite of the theory heard by @peregrina2000 ?

Ooops, I misread. You're right.
I've always been able to find them in March and April, and nary a hot one yet. Well, go figure.
What's certain is that we can all feel happy for Falcon. Lucky him!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Scientific method took a beating; I changed a lot of variables. I used raised beds what required daily watering instead of the ground soil in my front yard that relied mostly on rain irrigation. The plantings were from three different seed sources, two on eBay and one from a store in Spain. I used liquid fertilizer more often this year, since there was not a lot of soil from which the plants could draw nutrition. I am harvesting more often since the plants are on my back deck, so the peppers are a bit smaller. And, as mentioned, I did not plant other pepper plants anywhere nearby. Last year every pimiento was as hot as a jalapeno. This year they are generally mild, with about one in twenty have some bite. Since I did not change just one factor, I have no idea what caused the difference in 2016 and 2017 harvests. The crop is so bountiful that I think I can drop my multivitamin and just eat peppers!

 

[peregrina2000]

Scientific method took a beating; I changed a lot of variables. I used raised beds what required daily watering instead of the ground soil in my front yard that relied mostly on rain irrigation. The plantings were from three different seed sources, two on eBay and one from a store in Spain. I used liquid fertilizer more often this year, since there was not a lot of soil from which the plants could draw nutrition. I am harvesting more often since the plants are on my back deck, so the peppers are a bit smaller. And, as mentioned, I did not plant other pepper plants anywhere nearby. Last year every pimiento was as hot as a jalapeno. This year they are generally mild, with about one in twenty have some bite. Since I did not change just one factor, I have no idea what caused the difference in 2016 and 2017 harvests. The crop is so bountiful that I think I can drop my multivitamin and just eat peppers!

You obviously have a very green thumb, falcon. From the picture, it looks like the plants are growing in a very shallow nylon basket of sorts. How does that work, doesn't the water drain right through? And I see red round things peeping out in the back of the picture -- gazpacho, anyone?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

gazpacho, anyone?

Roma and cherry tomatoes. Yes, gazpacho!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Pick 'em; cook 'em; eat 'em! None was not in this batch.